Image display device, image display method, and computer product

ABSTRACT

An image display device includes an analyzing section that analyzes the types of images contained in input image data, a dividing section that divides the image data into blocks based on the types of images, a display controlling section that displays the image data divided into the blocks on a touch panel, a specifying section that specifies a block as selected or non-selected block, and an editing section that edit a selected block in response to an edit request. The display controlling section displays an image edited by the editing section on a display screen.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present document incorporates by reference the entire contents ofJapanese priority documents, 2005-269303 filed in Japan on Sep. 16, 2005and 2005-299294 filed in Japan on Oct. 13, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an image display device, an imagedisplay method, and a computer product.

2. Description of the Related Art

With a conventional image forming apparatus such as a digitalmultifunction product (MFP), a user has difficulties in performingediting operation, such as layout work, for an image while checkingoperational settings and a status of an output image. When the userwishes to print only photos and graphics in an image, the user has to gothrough the cumbersome steps of, for example, making a copy of theimage, cutting photos and graphics out of the image, pasting the photosand the graphics on another sheet, and then making a copy of the sheet.

In view of the foregoing, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.2001-94760 discloses an information processor. The conventionalinformation processor divides read image data into blocks so that a usercan specify a block to be modified, and prints the image data aftermodification. The conventional information processor makes it possibleto edit text information in a specific block or the size of the block.

However, with the conventional information processor, a user cannotselect a plurality of blocks to be moved or deleted to change the entirelayout of an image. That is, although the information processor allows auser to correct illegible part of text in image data and print the imagedata reflecting the correction, the user cannot print, for example, onlyphotos and graphics in an original image.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to at least partially solve theproblems in the conventional technology.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an image display methodincludes analyzing first image data to detect types of images containedtherein, the types of images including a text image, a photo image, anda graphic image, dividing the first image data into a plurality ofblocks based on the types of images to obtain second image data,displaying the second image data on a display screen, specifying atleast one of the blocks as a first selected block, receiving an editrequest for the first selected block, the edit request containing atleast one of commands that include delete, move, enlarge, and shrink,editing the first selected block in response to the edit request toobtain third image data, and displaying the third image data togetherwith any one of the first image data and the second image data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an image displaydevice includes an analyzing unit that analyzes first image data todetect types of images contained therein, the types of images includinga text image, a photo image, and a graphic image, a dividing unit thatdivides the first image data into blocks based on the types of images toobtain second image data, a display screen that displays the secondimage data, a specifying unit that specifies at least one of the blocksas a first selected block, an editing unit that receives an edit requestfor the first selected block, and edits the first selected block inresponse to the edit request to obtain third image data, the editrequest containing at least one of commands that include delete, move,enlarge, and shrink, and a display controlling unit that displays thethird image data together with any one of the first image data and thesecond image data on the display screen.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a computerprogram product includes a computer program that implements the abovemethods on a computer.

The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical andindustrial significance of this invention will be better understood byreading the following detailed description of presently preferredembodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusincluding an image display device according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an example of a divided image displayed by the image displaydevice shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a data structure of the divided image shown inFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining coordinate data that defines theposition of a block;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of a divided image in which blocks areselected;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a data structure of the divided image shown inFIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example of a divided image in which selectedblocks are deleted;

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a data structure of the divided image shown inFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatusshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example of a divided image in which a blockis additionally selected;

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a data structure of the divided image shown inFIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a diagram of an example of a divided image in which a blockis to be moved;

FIG. 13 is a diagram of a data structure of the divided image shown inFIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a diagram of an example of a divided image in which a blockhas been moved;

FIG. 15 is a diagram of a data structure of the divided image shown inFIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a diagram of an example of a divided image in which a blockis newly selected;

FIG. 17 is a diagram of a data structure of the divided image shown inFIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusincluding an image display device according to a second embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 19 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusincluding an image display device according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusincluding an image display device according to a fourth embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusincluding an image display device according to a fifth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusincluding an image display device according to a sixth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 23 is a block diagram of a hardware configuration of the imageforming apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in detailbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, an imagedisplay device analyzes read image data, and divides the image data intoblocks based on image types. When a user selects one of the blocks, theimage display device edits the block according to conditions andparameters specified by the user, and displays the image. Namely, theimage display device divides an image into blocks. The image is editedswiftly per unit of block by a simple and selective operation from avisual interface, such as a touch panel, generally attached toelectronic equipment. The image display device displays the edited imageon a display screen.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusaccording to the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus includesa scanner 1, an image processing section 2, a touch panel 3, an outputprocessing section 4, an image output section 5, a memory (Hard DiskDrive (HDD)) 6, and an image display device 10.

The scanner 1 reads an image. The image processing section 2 convertsthe image into digital data to generate image data, and sends the imagedata to the image display device 10. The touch panel 3 is used by a userto, for example, specify a block of the image, and set variousconditions and parameters for editing and printing. The touch panel 3displays the original image read by the scanner 1, and also the imageedited according to input on the touch panel 3.

The user can perform input operation by touching the touch panel 3 withhis/her finger, a stylus pen, or other pointing devices. The touch panel3 detects the location of a touched point on a panel screen by knowntechniques such as the resistive film method for detecting a resistancechange due to touch by a finger or a stylus pen, the infrared sensingmethod, or the analog capacity coupling method. As an input method, thecontact input is generally used.

In the following description, contact input (hereinafter “touch input”)on the touch panel 3 is taken as an example; however, the input methodis not limited to the touch input. For example, the image formingapparatus can include an input device (not shown), such as a mouse or akeyboard, by which the user performs input operation. Further, theoperating unit can include a push-button to instruct printing.

The image display device 10 processes or edits the image data receivedfrom the image processing section 2 based on conditions and parametersinput through the touch panel 3. The touch panel 3 displays the editedimage on the display screen.

The output processing section 4 performs an output process for theedited image data from the image display device 10, and sends the imagedata to the image output section 5. The image output section 5 printsthe image data.

The image display device 10 includes an analyzing section 11, a dividingsection 12, a specifying section 13, an editing section 14, and adisplay controlling section 15. The analyzing section 11 analyzes inputimage data to detect the presence or absence of an edge area, adifference in gray levels or pixel values, and the number of halftonepixels. The analyzing section 11 then determines types of imagescontained in the image data. Examples of the image types include a textimage, a photo image, and a graphic image. The analyzing technique isknown, and is not described herein.

The dividing section 12 divides the image data into blocks according tothe image types based on the results of analysis obtained by theanalyzing section 11. For example, when the image data is a text image,the image data is divided by each paragraph. When the image datacontains photo images and graphic images, the image data is divided withrespect to each photo image and graphic image. The dividing section 12stores the image data divided into blocks on the HDD 6 as a dividedimage file.

The dividing section 12 determines part of the image data as a textblock by, for example, detecting a string of letters or characters. Thedividing section 12 also extracts part of the image data as a photoblock by detecting a string of halftone pixels. Besides, the dividingsection 12 determines part of the image data as a graphic block bydetecting an edge portion and the substantial difference in gray levels.The dividing section 12 determines that another part of the image datais not any one of a text image, a photo image, and a graphic image, andperforms a division process for the part. The technique for dividing animage into blocks is known, and is not described herein.

The specifying section 13 specifies a block that the user selects bytouch input as a selected block. Specifically, when the user touches anypoint in a specific block displayed on the touch panel 3 with his/herfinger, a stylus pen, etc., the specifying section 13 detects thecoordinates of the location of the point. Having determined that thepoint is located inside a block, the specifying section 13 specifies theblock as a selected block.

The specifying section 13 writes information indicating a selectionstatus of the selected block to the image data. Examples of theselection status include: selected, non-selected, and non-displayed. Thedisplay controlling section 15 displays a block on the touch panel 3according to the selection status of the block specified in thespecifying section 13.

The editing section 14 receives an edit request (signal). The editrequest contains conditions and parameters for editing. The editingsection 14 edits a block obtained by the dividing section 12 andspecified by the specifying section 13 according to the conditions andparameters. The conditions and parameters indicate to move, delete, etc.the selected block. For example, when the user presses a delete key or adelete icon on the touch panel 3, the editing section 14 deletes theselected block.

The editing section 14 edits a selected block of image data for which anedit request has been received, and outputs the image data to thedisplay controlling section 15. The editing section 14 outputs imagedata, for which no edit request has been made, to the displaycontrolling section 15 without edition.

For example, when a photo block and a graphic block of read image dataare selected to be deleted, the editing section 14 deletes the selectedblocks. Accordingly, only text is displayed on the screen so that theuser can check the contents of the text before printing the image data.The user can delete a desired block of image data by, for example,touching the delete icon on the display screen.

The display controlling section 15 displays an image edited by theediting section 14 on the touch panel 3. With the edited image, thedisplay controlling section 15 displays a selection status of each blockand items specifying print format on the touch panel 3. When a print keyis pressed, the output processing section 4 performs an output processfor the edited image data, and the image output section 5 prints out theedited image.

The display controlling section 15 stores image data divided into blocksby the dividing section 12 on the HDD 6. Besides, the displaycontrolling section 15 updates the divided image data stored on the HDD6, information on a layout of the blocks, and information associatedwith the blocks, such as selection statuses of the blocks: selected,non-selected, or non-displayed, and then stores the updated image dataon the HDD 6.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example of a divided image displayed by imagedisplay device 10. In FIG. 2, read original image is divided into blocksbased on categories of contents such as paragraphs, a title, and aphoto. Each block is defined by a solid line in a rectangle frame. Thesolid line is cited by way of example and without limitation, and ablock can be defined by a colored frame, for example, a frame formed ofa blue solid line.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a data structure of a divided image. FIG. 4 is adiagram for explaining coordinate data that defines the position of ablock. The data structure in FIG. 3 defines the image shown in FIG. 2.The display controlling section 15 reads the data in FIG. 3, anddisplays the image shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 3, No. (represented by the reference numeral 301) indicates ablock number assigned to each block obtained by the dividing section 12.In the example of FIG. 3, image data is divided into 13 blocks, andnumbers from 1 to 13 is assigned to the blocks, respectively. AREA(represented by the reference numeral 302) indicates coordinates datafor the position of each block. The coordinate data is represented byvalues on coordinate axes, an X-axis and a Y-axis, on the touch panel 3.

The X-axis and a Y-axis are set as shown in FIG. 4. In the image formingapparatus, the X-axis and the Y-axis are preferably set in the mainscanning direction and the sub-scanning direction, respectively. A groupof four parameters (x, y, w, and h) defines the size and position of arectangle frame. The parameters x, y, w, and h herein represent theorigin of the X-coordinate axis, the origin of the Y-coordinate axis,the width in the X-axis direction, and the height in the Y-axisdirection, respectively.

SEL_STATUS (represented by the reference numeral 303) indicates aselection status associated with each block. Selection statuses:selected, non-selected, and non-displayed, are represented by SEL,NOSEL, and DEL, respectively. Immediately after an image is input and noblock is selected yet, SEL_STATUS for every element is NOSEL.

IMAGE DATA (represented by the reference numeral 304) indicates specificimage data in each block, namely block image data.

The specifying section 13 accepts input for specifying a selectionstatus of a block through the touch panel 3. A block defined by arectangle frame displayed on the touch panel 3 is selectable, and can benewly selected, additionally selected, or released from selection. Wheninput is made via a block on the touch panel 3, the specifying section13 sets a selection status of the block corresponding to the input.

The display controlling section 15 updates an image file according tothe selection status accepted in the specifying section 13. Namely, thedisplay controlling section 15 updates SEL_STATUS (303) corresponding tothe block number (301) of a block based on the selection status. Thedisplay controlling section 15 displays image again on the touch panel 3according to the updated image file. When the selection status of theblock is changed, the block is displayed in the changed selectionstatus.

FIG. 5 is an example of a divided image in which blocks are selected.FIG. 6 is a diagram of a data structure of the divided image. When theuser touches blocks 501 to 504 to select them, the specifying section 13generates data 600 of FIG. 6 from data 300 of FIG. 3, in whichSEL_STATUS of blocks No. 1 to No. 4 is updated from NOSEL to SEL. Thedisplay controlling section 15 displays the image where the selectedblocks 501 to 504 is defined by a bold dotted line in a rectangle frameas shown in FIG. 5 according to the generated data 600.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example of a divided image in which selectedblocks are deleted. FIG. 8 is a diagram of a data structure of thedivided image. When a delete key 702 as shown in FIG. 7 is pressed, theediting section 14 deletes a selected block. The editing section 14updates SEL_STATUS of the block from SEL to DEL (represented by thereference numeral 801).

The editing section 14 updates SEL_STATUS of the selected blocks No. 1to No. 4 from SEL to DEL such that the data 600 of FIG. 6 changes todata 800 of FIG. 8. The display controlling section 15 displays, asshown in FIG. 7, the image where the blocks 501 to 504 selected in FIG.5 are deleted according to data 800.

When a print key 703 on the touch panel 3 is pressed, the outputprocessing section 4 accepts a print command, and performs an outputprocess for the image data edited in the editing section 14 so that theimage output section 5 prints the image in the print format displayed onthe touch panel 3.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the operation of the image forming apparatus.The scanner 1 reads an image, and the image processing section 2generates image data form the image. The analyzing section 11 analyzesthe image data to determine types of images contained in the image data.The types of images can be determined by known techniques. For example,by detecting an edge portion, a string of halftone pixels, and adifference in gray levels or pixel values, an image is determined as atext image, a photo image, a graphic image, or other images (step S101).

The dividing section 12 divides the image data into blocks by the typesof images analyzed by the analyzing section 11. The image data isdivided by the known techniques, for example, by detecting a string ofletters or characters, a string of halftone pixels, an edge portion, andthe difference in gray levels (step S102).

The display controlling section 15 generates image data of blocksobtained by the dividing section 12, and stores the image data on theHDD 6 as well as displaying the generated image data on the touch panel3 (step S103).

The specifying section 13 detects input to select a block through theblock (step S104). When the specifying section 13 detects touch input(Yes at step S104), the specifying section 13 specifies the block as aselected block. For example, when the blocks 501 to 504 in FIG. 5 areselected, SEL_STATUS of the blocks 501 to 504 is rewritten to SEL asshown in FIG. 6 (step S105). When the specifying section 13 does notdetect any touch input (No at step S104), the process proceeds to stepS106.

The editing section 14 determines whether an edit request is receivedfor the selected block (step S106). Having determined that an editrequest has been received, for example, that the delete key 702 in FIG.7 is pressed (Yes at step S106), the editing section 14 deletes theselected block according to the edit request. Then, the editing section14 updates SEL_STATUS of the selected block to DEL representing deletionas indicated by the reference numeral 801 in FIG. 8 (step S107).

When the editing section 14 receives no edit request for the selectedblock (No at step S106), the process returns to the step S104, and thespecifying section 13 detects an input to select a block through theblock. Thus, an additional selection is available.

When an edit request is received for a non-selected block, or a blockthat was once selected but the selection has been canceled, SEL_STATUSof the block is not changed, and any editing is not performed at stepS107.

The display controlling section 15 displays on the touch panel 3 theimage edited by the editing section 14, i.e., the image in which theblocks 501 to 504 are deleted and not displayed as shown in FIG. 7 (stepS108).

FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example of a divided image in which a blockis additionally selected. FIG. 11 is a diagram of a data structure ofthe divided image.

When a block 505 is newly selected (Yes at step S104) in addition to theselected blocks previously specified and displayed on the display screen(step S105), while the previously selected blocks are being selected,the additionally selected block 505 is defined by a bold dotted line ina rectangle frame (represented by the reference numeral 1101). Thepreviously selected blocks 501 to 504 are still defined by a bold dottedline in a rectangle frame.

The specifying section 13 updates SEL_STATUS of the block No. 5 to SELin data 1200 (represented by the reference numeral 1201). SEL_STATUS ofthe blocks No. 1 to No. 4 is maintained in SEL.

In this case, when the editing section 14 receives an edit request fordeletion, i.e., a delete key 1102 in FIG. 10 is pressed (Yes at stepS106), the editing section 14 updates SEL_STATUS of the blocks No. 1 toNo. 5 to DEL, and deletes the blocks. The display controlling section 15displays on the touch panel 3 the image edited by the editing section14, i.e., the image in which the blocks No. 1 to No. 5 (not shown).

FIG. 12 is a diagram of an example of a divided image in which a blockis to be moved. FIG. 13 is a diagram of a data structure of the dividedimage shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 14 is an example of a divided image inwhich a block has been moved. FIG. 15 is a diagram of a data structureof the divided image shown in FIG. 14. It is assumed that a user selectsa block 1301 in FIG. 12 by touch input on the touch panel 3, and alsopresses a move key 1302.

The specifying section 13 accepts the touch input on the block 1301, andupdates SEL_STATUS of the block 1301 to SEL. The editing section 14detects the touch input through the move key 1302, and updates AREA ofthe block 1301. A user inputs information on a move destination in theediting section 14 through the touch panel 3 by, for example, indicatingthe move destination with his/her finger. The editing section 14 updatesAREA of the block 1301 to (50, 3, 35, 6) based on the information on themove destination (represented by the reference numeral 1601), and alsoupdates SEL_STATUS of the block 1301 to NOSEL.

The display controlling section 15 displays a moved block 1501 accordingto the AREA and SEL_STATUS information updated by the editing section14.

FIG. 16 is a diagram of an example of a divided image in which a blockis newly selected. FIG. 17 is a diagram of a data structure of thedivided image. When the specifying section 13 specifies a block as anewly selected block, image data is updated such that blocks other thanthe newly selected block are in the non-selected status.

It is assumed that the block 505 displayed on the touch panel 3 in FIG.5 is newly selected. The specifying section 13 specifies the block 505as a newly selected block, and, as shown in FIG. 17, updates SEL_STATUSof a block 1701 from NOSEL to SEL (represented by the reference numeral1801), and SEL_STATUS of other blocks to NOSEL.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention, the image display device 10 analyzes input image data todetermine types of images contained in the image data. The image displaydevice 10 then divides the image data into blocks based on the types ofimages, and displays the image data divided into blocks on the touchpanel 3. When a block is selected by touch input via the block andconditions and parameters for editing are set for the block, theselected block is edited according to the conditions and parameters. Theimage display device 10 displays the edited image. Thus, a user can editan image by a simple operation while checking the image displayed on thetouch panel 3, and set conditions and parameters for the output image.The image forming apparatus including the image display device 10thereby outputs the edited image.

FIG. 18 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusincluding an image display device 20 according to a second embodiment ofthe present invention. The image display device 20 is basically similarin construction to the image display device 10 except for the presenceof a specifying section 23 in place of the specifying section 13. Theimage display device 20 can cancel the selection of a block that wasonce selected, and set the block in the non-selected status differentlyfrom the image display device 10. Consequently, when having selected ablock erroneously or by mistake, a user can cancel the selection of theblock, and select a desired block to be edited.

When the user touches any point in a specific block, the specifyingsection 23 specifies the block as a selected block. On the other hand,if the user touches any point outside blocks displayed on the touchpanel 3 when a selected block has already been specified, the specifyingsection 23 sets the previously selected block in the non-selectedstatus.

The specifying section 23 can detect that the point touched on the touchpanel 3 is located outside the blocks. Having detected that the touchedpoint is located outside the blocks when a selected block has alreadybeen specified, the specifying section 23 updates SEL_STATUS of thepreviously selected block to NOSEL. The display controlling section 15displays this block as in the non-selected status on the touch panel 3based on SEL_STATUS information updated by the specifying section 23.

When the user touches a new block while touching a point outside theblocks, the specifying section 23 specifies the block where the usertouches as a selected block in addition to a previously selected block.

When the user touches a new block and a point outside the blocks at thesame time, the specifying section 23 specifies the touched block as anewly selected block, and sets a previously selected block in thenon-selected status.

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention, when a block displayed on the touch panel 3 has already beenspecified as a selected block, selection statuses such as selected andnon-selected statuses can be set in various manners by effectively usingtouch input from outside blocks displayed on the touch panel 3. Thus, animage that is edited by a simple operation can be displayed on thedisplay screen.

FIG. 19 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusincluding an image display device 30 according to the third embodimentof the present invention. The image display device 30 is basicallysimilar in construction to the image display device 10 except for thepresence of a specifying section 33 in place of the specifying section13. With the image display device 30, a user can set a selection statusof a desired block such as selected or non-selected status by touchingtwo or more points in the block in various manners, differently from theimage display device 10.

When the user touches a point in a specific block, the specifyingsection 33 specifies the block as an additionally selected block. On theother hand, if the user touches two or more points in the same block atthe same time, the specifying section 33 specifies the block as a newlyselected block, and sets a block that has already been selected in thenon-selected status. Thus, selected and non-selected statuses can be setby a simple operation.

As another example, when the user touches two or more points in the sameblock at the same time, the specifying section 33 specifies the block asa selected block in addition to a block that has already been selected.When a user touches a point in a specific block, the specifying section33 specifies the block as a newly selected block, and sets a block thathas already been selected in the non-selected status.

As described above, according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention, the image display device 30 checks whether a user touches twoor more points in a block to determine that the block is additionally ornewly selected. That is, the user can set a selection status of adesired block such as selected or non-selected status by touching theblock with one or two fingers. Thus, the user can edit an image flexiblyby a simple operation while viewing the image on the touch panel 3, andset conditions and parameters for the output image. The image formingapparatus including the image display device 30 thereby outputs theedited image.

FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusincluding an image display device 40 according to the fourth embodimentof the present invention. The image display device 40 is basicallysimilar in construction to the image display device 10 except that theimage display device 40 further includes a timer section 46, and aspecifying section 43 in place of the specifying section 13. The timersection 46 counts a time interval between a plurality of touch inputs.With the timer section 46, the image display device 40 determines aselection status of a block based on the time interval or the durationof touch input.

The timer section 46 counts a time interval between touch inputs in ablock. When the time interval counted by the timer section 46 is lessthan a predetermined time, the specifying section 43 specifies the blockas a newly selected block. When the time interval is not less than thepredetermined time, the specifying section 43 specifies the block as anadditionally selected block.

Besides, when the time interval is longer than a predetermined time, thespecifying section 43 specifies the block as a newly selected block.When the interval is not longer than the predetermined time, thespecifying section 43 specifies the block as an additionally selectedblock.

As another example, when the duration of time the user is continuouslytouching a block is less than a predetermined time, the specifyingsection 43 specifies the block as a newly selected block. When theduration of time is not less than a predetermined time, the specifyingsection 43 specifies the block as an additionally selected block.

On the other hand, when the duration of time is longer than apredetermined time, the specifying section 43 specifies the block as anewly selected block. When the duration of time is not longer than apredetermined time, the specifying section 43 specifies the block as anadditionally selected block.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention, the image display device 40 includes the timer section 46that counts a time interval between a plurality of touch inputs or theduration of time input. Based on the time interval or the duration oftouch input, the specifying section 43 determines a selection status ofa block, i.e., whether a block is additionally selected or newlyselected. That is, a user can set a selection status of a desired blocksuch as selected or non-selected status by touching the block at varioustime intervals. Thus, the user can edit an image flexibly by a simpleoperation while viewing the image on the touch panel 3, and setconditions and parameters for the output image. The image formingapparatus including the image display device 40 thereby outputs theedited image.

FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusincluding an image display device 50 according to the fifth embodimentof the present invention. The image display device 50 includes aspecifying section 53, an editing section 54, and a display controllingsection 55, in place of the specifying section 13, the editing section14, and the display controlling section 15 of the image display device10. When accepting a series of touch inputs through a block, the imagedisplay device 50 displays an edit menu on the touch panel 3 so that auser can select a desired item from the edit menu displayed on the touchpanel 3.

When the user touches a block which has already been specified as aselected block by the specifying section 53, the display controllingsection 55 displays the edit menu on the display screen. The editingsection 54 edits the block according to an item selected by the userfrom the edit menu. Examples of items in the edit menu include delete,move, enlarge and shrink. A pull-down menu can be employed as the editmenu. A desired item is selected and set up by touch input from the editmenu displayed on the display screen.

As another example, when the specifying section 53 accepts a series oftouch inputs through a block, the display controlling section 55displays a menu for specifying a selection status on the touch panel 3so that the user can select a desired selection status for the blockfrom the menu. That is, when the user touches a block which has alreadybeen specified as a selected block, the display controlling section 55displays the menu for specifying a selection status on the touch panel 3so that the specifying section 53 can specify the selection status ofthe block selected by the user from the menu.

As yet another example, at the time the user touches a block displayedon the touch panel 3, the display controlling section 55 displays theedit menu so that the user can select a desired item to edit the blockfrom the edit menu. In other words, when the specifying section 53accepts touch input via a block, the display controlling section 55generates edit menu data to display the edit menu on the touch panel 3.The editing section 54 edits the block according to an item selected bythe user from the edit menu by touch input.

As yet another example, at the time the user touches a block displayedon the touch panel 3, the display controlling section 55 displays themenu for specifying a selection status so that the user can select adesired selection status for the block from the menu. Specifically, whenthe specifying section 53 accepts touch input via a block, the displaycontrolling section 55 can generate selection menu data including a newselection, an additional selection, and a selection release to displaythe menu for specifying a selection status on the touch panel 3. Thespecifying section 53 specifies the selection status of the blockselected by the user from the menu by touch input.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention, when the specifying section 53 accepts touch input through ablock displayed on the touch panel 3, the display controlling section 55displays a menu so that a user can select a desired item from the menuto edit the block or set a selection status of the block by touch input.Thus, the user can edit an image flexibly by a simple operation whileviewing the image displayed on the touch panel 3, and set conditions andparameters for the output image. The image forming apparatus includingthe image display device 50 thereby outputs the edited image.

FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatusincluding an image display device 60 according to the sixth embodimentof the present invention. The image display device 60 is basicallysimilar in construction to the image display device 10 except for thepresence of a specifying section 63 in place of the specifying section13. When accepting a series of touch inputs through a block, the imagedisplay device 60 sets the block in the non-selected status, differentlyfrom the image display device 10.

When the user touches a block which has already been specified as aselected block by the specifying section 63, the specifying section 63sets the block in the non-selected status.

According to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, when a usertouches a block displayed on the touch panel 3 that has already beenspecified as a selected block, the specifying section 63 sets the blockin the non-selected status. Thus, the user can edit an image flexibly bya simple operation while viewing the image displayed on the touch panel3, and set conditions and parameters for the output image. The imageforming apparatus including the image display device 60 thereby outputsthe edited image.

As described above, according to the embodiments of the presentinvention, the image forming apparatus allow a user to check the printformat of an output image on the display screen of the image displaydevice before printing. Moreover, the user can specify a selectionstatus of a block such as newly selected, additionally selected, ornon-selected status on the display screen, and edit the selected block.The edited image is displayed on the display screen. Thus, the user cancheck printing conditions by a simple operation, which improves theusability of the image forming apparatus for the user.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram of a hardware configuration of the imageforming apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention.The image forming apparatus is configured as a MFP with multiplefunctions such as a facsimile and a scanner. As shown in FIG. 23, theMFP includes a controller 2210 and an engine section 2260 connected by aPeripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus. The controller 2210controls the entire MFP, and especially, controls input from a Fan-CoilUnit Interface (FCUI/F) 2230 and an operation displaying section (touchpanel) 2220 for displaying and processing an image. The engine section2260 is an image processing engine, and connectable to the PCI bus. Theengine section 2260 performs image processing such as error diffusionand gamma conversion of obtained image data.

The controller 2210 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 2211, aNorth Bridge (NB) 2213, a system memory (MEM-P) 2212, a South Bridge(SB) 2214, a local memory (MEM-C) 2217, an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC) 2216, and a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) 2218. The NB2213 and the ASIC 2216 are connected by an Accelerated Graphics Port(AGP) bus 2215. The MEM-P 2212 includes a Read Only Memory (ROM) 2212 aand a Random Access Memory (RAM) 2212 b.

The CPU 2211 controls the entire MFP, and is connected to a chipsetincluding the NB 2213, the MEM-P 2212, and the SB 2214. The CPU 2211 isconnected to other devices via the chipset.

The NB 2213 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 2211 to the MEM-P 2212,the SB 2214, and the AGP 2215, and includes a memory controller thatcontrols read/write access to the MEM-P 2212, a PCI master, and an AGPtarget.

The MEM-P 2212 is a system memory for loading and storing programs anddata. The ROM 2212 a is a read-only memory for storing programs or data.The RAM 2212 b is a writable and readable memory for loading programs ordata and for image processing.

The SB 2214 is a bridge for connecting the NB 2213 to PCI devices andperipheral devices. The SB 2214 is connected to the NB 2213 via the PCIbus, and the FCUI/F 2230, etc. is also connected to the PCI bus.

The ASIC 2216 is an Integrated Circuit (IC) used for multimediainformation processing with hardware components for multimediainformation processing, and serves as a bridge for connecting the HDD2218, the MEM-C 2217, the AGP 2215 and the PCI bus one another.

The ASIC 2216 includes a PCI target, an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB)serving as the core of the ASIC 2216, a memory controller forcontrolling the MEM-C 2217, and a plurality of Direct Memory AccessControllers (DMAC) for rotating image data by hardware logic. The ASIC2216 is connected to a Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2240 and the Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers (the IEEE) 1394 interface 2250via the PCI bus.

The MEM-C 2217 is a local memory used as a buffer for images to betransmitted and a code buffer. The HDD 2218 is a storage for storingimage data, programs, font data, and form data.

The AGP 2215 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card that hasbeen proposed to speed up the graphic processing. The AGP 1308 directlyaccesses the MEM-P 2212 at high throughput so that the graphicsaccelerator card operates at high speed.

The ASIC 2216 accepts input from a user through the operation displayingsection (touch panel) 2220 connected thereto, and transmits informationon the input accepted.

Computer programs (an image display program and an image formingprogram) executed by the MFP to realize the same function as the imageforming apparatus and the image display device according to theembodiments of the present invention are previously stored in a ROM orthe like.

The image display program and the image forming program can be recorded,in an installable or executable file format, on a computer-readablerecording medium such as a Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), aFlexible Disk (FD), a Compact Disc-Recordable (CD-R), or a DigitalVersatile Disk (DVD).

The image display program and the image forming program can be stored ina computer connected to a network such as the Internet, and downloadedfrom the computer via the network. The image display program and theimage forming program can also be distributed via the network.

The image display program and the image forming program implement therespective components of the image forming apparatus and the imagedisplay device, such as the analyzing section 11, the dividing section12, the specifying section 13, the editing section 14, the displaycontrolling section 15, and the timer section 46. Specifically, the CPUloads the image display program and the image forming program from theROM into a main storage unit to execute them, thereby implementing therespective components of the image forming apparatus and the imagedisplay device.

The present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus includingan image display device in the embodiments described above; however, thepresent invention is not so limited but applicable to various deviceswith an image display function, for example, electronics devices such asa cellular phone or a digital camera, and an information processorincluding a Personal Computer (PC). In a case of the PC, for example, aprinter driver is installed on the PC. An image to be printed isdisplayed on a monitor, and can be edited as described in the aboveembodiments by touch input on the monitor or input using a mouse and apointer.

As set forth hereinabove, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, image data is analyzed and divided into blocks based on typesof images contained in the image data. A block to be edited is selectedby touch input on a display screen. The selected block is edited inresponse to an edit request made through the display screen. Thus, theimage data can be selectively edited with respect to each block by asimple operation. In addition, an edited image is displayed on thedisplay screen so that a user can edit the image data while visuallychecking the edited image. This makes editing operation highlyefficient.

Moreover, a user can set a selection status of a desired block, such asselected, non-selected, newly selected or additionally selected status,and make an edit request by touching the display screen in variousmanners. This further improves the efficiency of editing operation.

Although the invention has been described with respect to a specificembodiment for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims arenot to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying allmodifications and alternative constructions that may occur to oneskilled in the art that fairly fall within the basic teaching herein setforth.

1. An image display method to cause an image display device to displayan image, comprising: analyzing, in an analyzing unit, first image datato detect images contained therein, the images including a text image, aphoto image, and a graphic image; dividing, in a dividing unit, thefirst image data into a plurality of blocks based on the images toobtain second image data; storing, in a storage unit, the plurality ofblocks in association with block status data, the block status dataincluding coordinates corresponding to the position of each block on adisplay screen, and a selection status corresponding to each block, theselection status being one of selected, non-selected and non-displayed;displaying, on the display screen, the second image data; specifying, ina specifying unit, at least one of the blocks as a first selected blockand updating the selection status for each stored block; receiving, onthe display screen, an edit request for the first selected block, theedit request containing at least one of commands that include delete,move, enlarge, and shrink; editing, in an editing unit, the firstselected block in response to the edit request to obtain third imagedata and updating the block status data based on the edit request;displaying, on the display screen, the third image data together withone of the first image data and the second image data; detecting a pointtouched on the display screen; and displaying a menu that containscommands including newly select, additionally select, and cancelselection on the display screen when the point is located in a block,wherein a selection status of the block is specified based on a commandselected from the menu.
 2. An image display device, comprising: ananalyzing unit configured to analyze first image data to detect imagescontained therein, the images including a text image, a photo image, anda graphic image; a dividing unit configured to divide the first imagedata into a plurality of blocks based on the images to obtain secondimage data; a display screen configured to display the second imagedata; a storage unit configured to store the plurality of blocks inassociation with block status data, the block status data includingcoordinates corresponding to the position of each block on the displayscreen, and a selection status corresponding to each block, theselection status being one of selected, non-selected and non-displayed;a specifying unit configured to specify at least one of the blocks as afirst selected block and to update the selection status for each storedblock; an editing unit configured to receive an edit request for thefirst selected block, edit the first selected block in response to theedit request to obtain third image data, the edit request containing atleast one of commands that include delete, move, enlarge, and shrink,and update the block status data based on the edit request; and adisplay controlling unit configured to display the third image datatogether with one of the first image data and the second image data onthe display screen, detect a point touched on the display screen, anddisplay a menu that contains commands including newly select,additionally select, and cancel selection on the display screen when thepoint is located in a block, wherein a selection status of the block isspecified based on a command selected from the menu.
 3. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing computer readable instructions thereonthat when executed by an image display device cause the image displaydevice to perform a method comprising: analyzing first image data todetect images contained therein, the images including a text image, aphoto image, and a graphic image; dividing the first image data into aplurality of blocks based on the images to obtain second image data;storing the plurality of blocks in association with block status data,the block status data including coordinates corresponding to theposition of each block on a display screen, and a selection statuscorresponding to each block, the selection status being one of selected,non-selected and non-displayed; displaying the second image data;specifying at least one of the blocks as a selected block and updatingthe selection status for each stored block; receiving an edit requestfor the selected block, the edit request containing at least one ofcommands that include delete, move, enlarge, and shrink; editing theselected block in response to the edit request to obtain third imagedata; updating the block status data based on the edit request;displaying the third image data together with any one of the first imagedata and the second image data; detecting a point touched on the displayscreen; and displaying a menu that contains commands including newlyselect, additionally select, and cancel selection on the display screenwhen the point is located in a block, wherein a selection status of theblock is specified based on a command selected from the menu.